What It Does
Trails creates dynamic motion trails, swooshes, and speedlines that stick to any layer and update instantly when you change your animation. The plugin handles parenting automatically, even with complex expression setups, so you can focus on animating rather than manually updating trail positions.
Unlike static shape layers that break when you adjust timing, Trails rebuilds paths in real time as your layers move.
Key Features
Line velocity. Trails respond to the speed of their parent layer, creating natural physics where faster motion produces longer streaks. Useful for character animations or kinetic logo reveals where speed varies.
Wiggler. Adds randomness to trail paths for organic, hand-drawn effects. Pairs well with the velocity option to create wobbly speedlines that still feel grounded in the motion.
Add Movement. Applies linear motion to trails independent of the parent layer, creating flowing effects. Works for hair simulation, flags waving, or smoke-like trails that drift.
Stick Trail. Anchors trails to a point or layer in your composition, introduced in version 1.1. Creates ropes connecting two objects, tentacles, or any effect where the trail end needs to attach to something.
Offset Trails. Shifts trails forward or backward in time, also added in 1.1. Creates echo effects or allows multiple trails from the same layer at different time offsets.
All effects integrate with standard shape layer properties, trim paths, repeaters, and zig-zags work as expected.
Who It’s For
Motion designers animating characters, logos, or infographics where speedlines add energy. VFX artists needing quick smear effects for action sequences. Anyone tired of manually keyframing shape layers to follow animated objects.
Pricing
$17.99 for a single user license. Floating server licenses available at a different price. Free trial offered.
